What Does Psalm 135:21 Mean in the King James?
Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Praise rises from Zion to the LORD named as dwelling at Jerusalem: the verse joins presence with a place.
THE MEANING
Here and now, blessing rises from Zion to the LORD who dwells at Jerusalem. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם, Yerushalayim) carries shalom (שָׁלוֹם, wholeness), so the named dwelling place echoes wholeness. The LORD is pictured as abiding, not passing through.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The LORD is too distant to dwell among people; this verse names a dwelling place and locates blessing there.
THE ROOT
שֹׁכֵן
shokhen dwelling
GROWS FROM
שכן
sh-k-n
to settle, dwell, or remain
“dwelleth” in this verse is shokhen dwelling. The verse’s word for dwelling belongs to the same root family as mishkan, the dwelling place or tabernacle. The image is of settled presence, not a passing visit.
ALSO GROWS
mishkan: dwelling place, tabernacle
מִשְׁכָּן
The tabernacle carries the same root, showing dwelling as a place where presence remains.
shakhen: neighbor, one who dwells nearby
שָׁכֵן
A neighbor is one whose dwelling is near; the root joins presence with nearness.
בָּרוּךְ
barukh blessed
GROWS FROM
ברך
b-r-k
to bless
“Blessed” in this verse is barukh blessed. The same root names blessing and the knee, so blessing can carry the posture of reverence without replacing the verse’s plain meaning. Here the blessing is voiced from Zion toward the LORD who dwells at Jerusalem.
ALSO GROWS
berakhah: blessing
בְּרָכָה
This noun makes the spoken blessing a continuing expression of the same root.
berekh: knee
בֶּרֶךְ
The shared root letters connect blessing with the bodily posture of bending the knee.
הַלְלוּ־יָהּ
halelu-Yah praise Yah
GROWS FROM
הלל
h-l-l
to praise, extol
The closing call to praise grows from the same root as other Hebrew words for praise. The verse’s final word is not separate from its blessing: both give voice to the LORD’s presence.
ALSO GROWS
tehillah: praise, song of praise
תְּהִלָּה
This noun makes praise a voiced song, extending the root’s expression beyond the command in this verse.
hallel: praise, extol
הַלֵּל
This verb shares the source root of halelu, the call to praise at the verse’s close.
THE PATTERN
The LORD’s presence is described as a settled dwelling among a people, and that nearness becomes ground for praise.
In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.THE THREAD
In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.The word “tabernacle” is mishkan (מִשְׁכָּן, dwelling place), from the same root as shakan (שכן, dwell) in “dwelleth.” The paired verse opens the image further: the LORD’s dwelling is named both in Salem and in Zion.
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